The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-17
THE DANGERS OF THE RAIL.
An Engineering Organ Charges that the
ROslyndale Bridge Was Faulty.
Continuation of the Inquiry by the Commits
sioners-Collision Between Freight and
Passenger Trains-Trainmen Killed.
THE LATE RAILWAY DISASTER.

An Engineering journal Denounces the Plan
and Material Used in the Broken Bridge.
NEW YORK. March 16-The Engineer News,
having thoroughly investigated the Forest Hill
disaster on the Boston & Providence railroad,
will publish the following in regard to it in this
weeks issue:
'The cause of this dreadful catastrophe has
been very obscure in the newspaper accounts.
the only certain thing having been that the
bridge was sort of patchwork nondescript
which violated several of the most important
and fundamental requirements of good bridge
designing. We are now, fortunately, able to
shed far more light what the precise cause
was than has heretofore appeared, or than is at
all likely to appear from any other source. even
In the official investigation, from the fact TT at
we have now in our Office what will probably SO
the most important bit of evidence in that n
vestigation, viz: The two original parts which,
IN all human probability were the first to break
These parts are in the possession of Mr.. Henry
5. Pritchard, c. e., practical bridge engineer
OF Philadelphia, VINO undertook to critically ex-
anime the structure on behalf OF this journal
and who went about it apparently a
little moro Systematically than those
who had preceded him. In connection
with further information gathered for
US within an hour or two after the accident oe-
Cured by Mr.. Frederick Brooks, C. E., of Bos-
ton, these fragments may be said to be absolute
ly conclusive to the real difficulty, since 1t Is
impossible that there should have been more de-
fective parts in the bridge if it was to stand up
at all. The parts which first broke were the two
hangers which carried the last most easterly
pair of floor beams of the northerly or last built
truss-the truss which carried all the load. So
TAR as can be judged from outside appearances,
they are made of far from good iron to begin
with. but. in addition to that. they of very
bad design and most imperfectly welded. In ad-
dition to that. again, they both of them very
badly f1awed by old and deeply -rusted breaks at
the most strained section, there being two dis
tinct breaks of this kind to each specimen. The
first hanger has both breaks across the weld. the
| first break being complete and the second break,
an inch and eighth above it. all but complete,
| the metal merely hanging together by the out
| side skin. This hanger can never have doIe
any work since its original and now
| ancient fracture. or it would have broken apart
| long since. The second hanger was cracked
across half of its inside face covered by the SUD
posed weld) for about half its depth of effective
| section, and this was clearly where the fracture
first began. 1t caused secondary fracture al
1 a second old break in the hook OF the welded
| end, which cut off q somewhat larger proportion
of the effective strength of the iron. All this is
| clearly shown in the engravipgs of the bridge
1 and its broken parts which appear in this issue,
/ and the general judgment Of engineers will beal
US out in saying that more shamefully bad spec
| linens Of bridge design, metal and workmanship
| can hardly exist We regret to have TO express
| SO sweeping a condemnation of the structure,
but the facts more than justify it, and it is but
| right that in an occurrence of this kind ths
truth should be pointed out and made clear
4 without fear or favor. 1t is appalling to think
/ OF the tons of thousands of lives which have lit
orally hung by thread in passing over this
] bridge during the past eleven years